Love

My heart is overwhelmed today with love...

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[LOVE]  
1. to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person)

People are sometimes surprised that I like this holiday, since I am single. However, I guess I don't really associate it with having to be in a relationship. Valentine's Day for me is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate one of the things that is most important to me in this world; love. 

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 This morning I woke up and saw one of my favorite scenes in the winter. A fresh layer of snow, making everything white, along with a heavy frost covering every last thing with frosty- diamond like white, and subtle pastels on the horizon.  Pastels in the sky are a reminder to me of God's goodness and his promises in my life. I've seen a lot of them in the past two years and this morning it took my breath away. I thought to myself, I should've known that God would take this day for his own ( being that Valentine's fell on the Sabbath :) ).

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And He did. I felt overwhelmed this week with a little realization about God. Often we think of Him as big and strong, tough and almighty. We know that His love is unconditional; much like a parent. So, in the love area I think it can feel one sided sometimes. I know that He loves me and cares for me even when I come up flawlessly short. I know he's there in the mess. That's an amazing assurance. But, I had lost touch with the very 'real heart' that God has. 

Did you know that God's love is not just on the giving part but also the receiving? Did you know that He is affected by you? 

This is the revelation that I got. God is moved by us. 

He is overwhelmed by our love, even the faint attempt of our feeble hearts. It moves him, much like Solomon's song...

“You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.”

— Song of Solomon 4:9

The New American Version says, "you have made my heart beat faster."

Wow. 

God is going through your life with you and he feels for you. He feels the things that you feel, he rejoices with you and he mourns with you. He sympathizes with you when you are frustrated with yourself. When you turn your eyes towards him, if even for a second, his heart is ravished! 

God's love is so great for us. I pray that as you read this, you are overwhelmed with the understanding of this kind of love.

That is something to celebrate.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Would you like to see me write on little ways to celebrate and commemorate your life more? If so, leave me a comment below. And as always, you can give me love by clicking the little heart button below. <3

Creating Balance Between Us & Our Phones: A Stimulation Fast

I read an article in December about a man who had a blank home screen and nearly no apps on his phone. He decided that his phone was not for those purposes and if he wanted to do things like check his email he would do it on his computer.

This hit me at ‘high-time’ when I needed a solution to my cell phone dependency and was ready to do something about it.

I was introduced to the smart phone after moving home from India in 2013. I was a little behind the trend and had already heard some say that it could be a potential ‘time-waster.’ So, I was a little hesitant, but went for it.

Since then, I have done significantly less reading and day-dreaming; going to bed on time and sleeping soundly; engaging my family in conversation and resting my mind.

Yes, I think those are the greatest negative effects it has had on my life. However, there are definitely significant benefits as well. I LOVE that I can use my phone to help me to be productive – iPhone’s Reminder app have been a LIFE SAVER! I also love notes, calendar, GPS, running app, access to music, and a great quality pocket sized camera!

I wouldn’t go back. But I was at the point where I was frustrated by how attached I was to my phone. Anyone else?
 

Me & My Phone
My main problem with my phone was that I grew into a habit of checking it every 15 minutes. Something about the screen drew me to it. The notifications and constantly updating feed on cellular apps send a sensory notice to the brain that makes it want to come back for more. This is what I define as stimulation; the same kind that children grow accustomed to by today’s TV. Shows like SpongeBob SquarePants change scenes every 11 seconds to keep children’s attention. It does keep their attention, but it also trains them to need this kind of stimulation and less stimulating things become boring. (More info on this here).

I missed just sitting in the living room on a regular evening during the week and letting my mind drift. I definitely don't think that there's anything wrong with scrolling through your phone at the end of the day and catching up on things. I was just frustrated by the habit it had created in me without purpose. When I didn't have anything to do, I would pick it up. I believe that boredom inspires creativity and is a VERY GOOD thing for the mind. I also believe that un-training our minds to be highly stimulated will help us to engage more with the beautiful things that are going on in our lives. Though I’ve never been in the habit of having my phone out when I’m out with my friends or family, I scroll through it in the evenings when we’re relaxing at home. Sure, I’ll put it down to talk with them, but if I didn’t have my phone to put down, what conversation or activities would I initiate? How much better would I listen? What books would I read? How much less pressure would I feel to always be ”in-the-know?”

Our minds need time to rest; un-stimulated, especially at night. Taking my phone to bed with me, while using it as an alarm clock, became a terrible habit. Hours could pass before I was ready to sleep and the light from the screen made me feel more awake!

So this is what I came up with and it has been so beneficial for me, maybe it will be for you to!

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Stimulation Fast
 

·      30 days (Or you could do it for Lent, which is Feb 10 (Ash Wednesday) to Friday, March 25 (Good Friday) 

·      Remove apps from phone – You decide which ones, depending on their draw to you. I removed Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and a lot of things that cluttered my phone. I could still access these things on the browser on my phone if I wanted, but the lack of ease (harder to scroll) wasn’t nearly as enticing. Also, the one extra step to put the web address into the browser to open the app really helped me to decide if I was doing it out of habit or not.

·      Clear home screen – This is up to you. I made my home screen clear, moving things to the second and third pages and a lot of things into folders, just for the piece of mind.

·      Don’t keep your phone sitting with you – Put your phone in the next room or in your purse. This included when I was relaxing on the couch, watching a movie, or anytime I wasn’t actively using my phone for something.

·      15-minute limits – Give yourself time to browse the apps on your phone if you like, but limit it to 15 minutes at a time and only 2-3 times a day. Then resort to putting your phone out of arms reach again. If there are articles that you would like to read, I would recommend printing them out and putting them next to your periodicals to read them during your down time. It is important to not be staring at a screen to reduce the stimulation.

·      No phone in the bedroom! – You may need an alarm clock to replace your phone. (There are cheap ones at Wal-Mart and on Amazon. I got this simple white one). This was a big step for me. The first time I walked my phone downstairs to leave charging on the kitchen counter, I walked back upstairs, turned my lamp on and reached for my phone. Ah! Haha. It was such an instinct for me to grab my phone while I was rolling into bed; a little way to ‘unwind.’ My brain really had to adjust, and this was the hardest step, but my mind was able to rest and I slept much better! It may be a good idea as well to put your phone away an hour before bedtime to help your mind to start resting.

How It Worked for Me

I started seeing changes within the first two weeks. I forgot about my phone and grabbed for it much less. It was such a freeing thing. I didn’t need my phone nearly as much as I thought. The progress continued and has remained since my fast has been over as well. My brain no longer requires that much stimulation anymore, and it’s such a blessing!

You may decide to download some of your apps back to your phone once you are done with the fast, which is totally fine, and you may decide to keep some of the rules permanently. Either way, I imagine that this will be a good thing to do periodically.

Hope you were inspired by this and moved to make a change in your life too!

Here's to more daydreaming and conversation!

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Creating A Capsule Wardrobe

My Reluctancy and How It Has Totally Won Me Over!

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So, I have to admit that when I heard of a capsule wardrobe a long time ago I didn’t understand what it was. There is a lot of inspiration to minimize one’s wardrobe lately, so I thought this was derivative, indicating a “40 piece” wardrobe in totality! I’m not quite that minimalistic. I didn’t think that was practical, especially as a "creative."

Just recently though, I realized that a capsule wardrobe is a curated set of clothing from your “whole” wardrobe for a specific season. Wow! Amazing huh? I have been trying to pare down my wardrobe for the past few years, replacing un-wore things with better-suited, more quality pieces. So, at this point I still didn’t think that I needed to create a “capsule” because hey, I loved all of my clothes!

However, I got the inspiration to pull one out last week and I love it so much I want to share it with you...
 

The   C O N C E P T

A select number of clothes chosen for one season, or a 3 month period (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall).

The   S P E C I F I C S     

-      # - I have 42 pieces in my Winter capsule wardrobe including tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, and scarves.  There is not a specific amount that you need but I’d recommend between 30-50. This, following the continuity rule, would provide more than enough outfits! Grabbing pieces from your other seasons when you like is totally not against the rules in my book. It depends what your main purpose is - minimalism or inspiration and making better use of your clothing. 

This is the # of each category I have in my capsule:  

• 12 Tops
• 2 Vests
• 6 Cardigans/ Jackets
• 4 Sweaters
• 4 Bottoms 
• 4 Dresses/ Skirts 
• 5 Scarves
• 5 Shoes 

(There were pieces added after taking the above pictures, in case anybody's counting :) The final # is 42 though).

Not Included in the Capsule Wardrobe – Workout-wear, sleepwear, outerwear, casual clothing you wear at home

-      Cohesiveness – Your pieces should have a similar style and color scheme so it is easy to coordinate and make multiple outfits! I follow my skin's color assessment for color (picture below). See here to find yours. 40 pieces goes a looong way with this concept. For me, it is important to have a variety of shapes and cuts of clothing which add pizazz to my wardrobe without the number of items!

-      Seasonal – This is really up to you. Choose the clothes that you like for the season you are picking for which are also weather specific.

-      Placement/ Inspiration – It is important to place the items chosen for your capsule together because this is the major inspiration factor! I chose an old ladder for mine that I had in my room already and left the rest of my wardrobe in my closet. However, if you live in a small space or don’t have the extra room, you could store clothes that are out of season and keep the capsule in your closet. If you have room in your closet simply separate this season from your other clothes. Hopefully minimizing will help you accomplish this!

-      Minimalism– Choosing a capsule wardrobe as apart of an effort to minimize is your choice. If that appeals to you, here are some tips. Before choosing a capsule wardrobe, or throughout the year, clean out your closet of things that you don't wear, aren't in good shape, or just aren't you (shape, design, color). Keep what you love and fill the holes in your wardrobe by shopping for quality pieces that you love and are cohesive with your style and other clothes. After you have created a wardrobe that you love (at least for one season) and you are trying to cut down on shopping, I recommend committing to not shop until the last two weeks of each season for the next season. Also, hit unsubscribe from your fashion store emails or auto-direct them straight to a folder in your email and not your inbox! When it's time to shop you can see if there are any deals. The items you choose for a season can most definitely be apart of your other seasons capsules as well, hopefully a number of them are! 

T I P S – If creatively putting outfits together in the morning, even with a capsule wardrobe, doesn’t come naturally to you, you could pick out several outfits ahead of time and take pictures of them for memory.  Your friends may be a great asset as well. If you live locally, contact Rhoda at RIG and Co. for absolutely amazing advice on style. She will help you “shop your wardrobe,” give you recommendations on your size, shape, and hue, do a color analysis on you, and even go shopping with you. She’s amazing. 

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This is my color assessment (Warm Spring)

I’m Sold!

The major factor for me is that I can now see all of my clothes for this season together. Instead of staring into my closet full of every seasons clothing and colors and ending up choosing my same 2 favorites, I now have a TON of options. I needed to see the choices together for the creativity to spark. I may feel a bit more stylish now too. ;)

I am getting much better use out of my clothing this way and it seems very practical to me now. I plan to continue for each season.

I hope this inspired you! Let me know if you decide to create a capsule wardrobe too. I would love love to see pictures!

Are there any other topics you'd like to hear about lifestyle, faith or creativity?
Let me know below in the comments and I'll see what I can do!

See my post on minimalism here.

Thank-you so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed it.
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